Two out of every five musical recordings sold worldwide are illegal and form a market for pirated music worth at least €4.1 billion, a conference on music piracy held in Dublin heard today.
The three-day world anti-piracy enforcement conference held at the Burlington hotel is organised by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and hosted by Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). Interpol, members of the Gardai, record company executives, anti-piracy investigators and property rights organisations are expected to take part.
According to IFPI there are strong links between music piracy and organised crime citing recent cases in Brazil, Paraguay, Italy, Spain and China.
It also warned that piracy is "damaging to countries' economies, affecting jobs, investment and growth".
Mr Iain Grant, head of the IFPI enforcement department, called the conference "an opportunity to assess, plan and review our global enforcement strategies".
"The close links the industry maintains with law enforcement authorities are vital to the ongoing fight against piracy," he added.